Problema Solution

John rode his motorbike for a distance of 30 km

from his house to the General Hospital. If he

incresed his average speed by 10 km / h, the time he

takes to complete his journey will be reduced by 30

minutes. Calculate his initial average speed.

Answer provided by our tutors

Let

d = 30 km the distance

v = initial average speed, v>=0

v + 10 = increased average speed

t = the time needed when traveling at rate v (in hours)

t - 30/60 =t - 0.5 the time needed when traveling at rate v + 10

Since d = v*t we ahve:

vt = 30

(v + 10)(t - 0.5) = 30

From vt = 30 we have t  = 30/v.

Plug t = 30/v into (v + 10)(t - 0.5) = 30:

(v + 10)(30/v - 0.5) = 30

........

click here to see the equation solved for v

........

v = 20 km/h

The initial average speed was 20 km/h.